Beckham Unveiled

[kurtangle01]

If the likes of Pele, Best, Beckenbauer and Cruyff couldn't turn the yanks on to footie 25 years ago, what chance has a second rate player like Beckham got?

Fact is the MLS is a second rate league with second rate players, who would want to pay to see that? Most true American "Soccer" fans will just stay at home and watch the Premiership, Serie A, La Liga and the Champions League on the telly instead.

Bottom line is that it's about money, not about making the game more popular than it is already in the States. Beckham will get paid, the Galaxy/MLS will make a fortune from cheap merchandising tat with his name on it. The football is largely irrelevant.

The football over there isn't even at a 2nd rate standard. The standard is about as good as league one.

[BrooklynRed]

If the likes of Pele, Best, Beckenbauer and Cruyff couldn't turn the yanks on to footie 25 years ago, what chance has a second rate player like Beckham got?

Fact is the MLS is a second rate league with second rate players, who would want to pay to see that? Most true American "Soccer" fans will just stay at home and watch the Premiership, Serie A, La Liga and the Champions League on the telly instead.

I agree with you here a little, but the difference between the NASL and MLS is that MLS has built their business over 12 years and it is an improving experience all the way around; The games are getting better, we are getting actual soccer stadiums being built around the country, and it has a been a slow, responsible build up in a single ownership structure; The league owns everything, which means it can use its dodgy internal rules to help franchises in trouble, encourage trades and transfers to make bad teams in big markets get better (look at NY this year), etc. What is missing in the MLS are the storylines, rivalries, derbies and marketing that effectively build a real footballing culture in the country. I think they want Beckham to play in every US stadium and be cheered, but I think it is more important that when LA come to town, people support their own side and give LA as much stick as possible; That is why, I think, the league is sort of ****. They pander to little kids and moms, families, to come out.

I had an idea for a campaign for the league that ties in immigrant themes and brings everyone who ALREADY LOVES THE GAME, which is millions of people, into the fold instead of marketing it as a white "kids and families" experience. America is obsessed with making things palatable for kids; It is like a cult of reproduction or something. I have seen kids at an NFL game, but you never hear of Oakland Raiders fans or Cleveland Browns fans being asked to "tone it down" in the stadiums; Baseball is the family game, because you dont have to pay it any attention and you still wont miss anything. Baseball is a small town, rural, heart and soul of America game with a LONG history here, which is why all the media types love it; they were raised on it and all of the "legendary media types" that the current media grew up admiring were all invested in baseball; It is historical and patriotic. It is also a game of statistics, and the minutia obsessed fans love to study RBIs, ERAs, Slugging %, on base %, etc etc. The game bores me ****less; It is a game built for radio in my opinion; something in the background where you dont need to see what happens...

Anyway. MLS could be good if they toughened it up, gave it some highlights and some press, and used the media to tell stories about the games, about the players, etc. We have none of that here for soccer. There are no transfer sagas (save Beckham), no media recognition of derbies, no interviews with players or coaches which allows them to say something stupid and inspire a rivalry (Slur Alex vs Arsene vs Jose vs Rafa every week is good stuff!), no match previews, no websites analyzing the game, no newspaper back pages, NOTHING. This is, I hope, where Beckham can help the sport grow; Get people and the media paying attention. Without this culture, each match feels like an exhibition game (except to the dedicated few who love the league). We need the drama.

[CharlieMansonsSquint]

Bull****, Beckham was/is a brilliant footballer. No point in denying it.

Compared to those I mentioned he is.

[Marky]

Compared to those I mentioned he is.

Maybe but you didn't make that point clear. You simply said he was a 2nd rate footballer. He's not.

[cobain]

Beckham was unveiled as a Norwich manager just last night (cm07). And he beat me in the league cup 3rd round

[Redlife]

I had an idea for a campaign for the league that ties in immigrant themes and brings everyone who ALREADY LOVES THE GAME, which is millions of people, into the fold instead of marketing it as a white "kids and families" experience.

That's something I've always wondered about. With so many Americans of Italian, Hispanic, and Irish descent - countries where football either popular or huge - how come football hasn't eventually translated in the U.S.?

[BrooklynRed]

That's something I've always wondered about. With so many Americans of Italian, Hispanic, and Irish descent - countries where football either popular or huge - how come football hasn't eventually translated in the U.S.?

Previously, I think it is because people came here and their goal was to assimilate to America; Italians had no way to follow soccer, no coverage at all and no professional league here, so they'd follow Rocky Marciano and Joe DiMaggio instead. Latinos play baseball and they follow that game as closely as Mexican soccer, which was all but invisible here until digital cable TV and the internet. Globalization has changed all that, and I think people can now follow the games and watch them on TV. I think a lot of younger people are 4th generation NY Yankees fans now (as an example) or Boston Red Sox fans (as an Irish example), but they are first generation soccer fans. What MLS should do is a 'discover your roots but we're all one nation' campaign that celebrates Latino and immigrant culture in general and encourages cross-pollination with other sports in the cities where we have teams.

They should also play more matches against Mexican clubs, play in the Copa Liberatadores, have a single table and move to winter-spring like everyone else so they can sych up with these other clubs around the world, but unfortunately summer is the perfect season for the game here because the NBA/NHL/NFL are over and all we have is baseball (another reason why baseball thrives... it is the only game in the summer for the most part). Will they though? remains to be seen.

[reddragon]

who feckin cares - keep it to the US press - it's all over the sundays and could I give a toss. When he went to Madrid I was at least interested cos it was in Spain and a big European club at that, but who cares about him going to his retirement home?